


A Friend Ship

by rodofatos



Category: Dota 2
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-26
Updated: 2017-12-26
Packaged: 2019-02-20 16:15:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13150323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rodofatos/pseuds/rodofatos
Summary: The Dirge learns an important (un)life lesson.Done for the Dota Secret Santa 2017.





	A Friend Ship

The Undying.

To some, he is known is the fearsome foremost herald of the Dead God. To others, a horrific beast of ruined flesh that knows of nothing but war and suffering. Still others believe him to be nothing more than a sentient plague of undeath, spreading the blight of the Dirge across the world. There are few, however, who do not quiver in fear when they hear the name. Those who know more of the Undying than the terrible tales and ghastly legends.

One of those few is the great Admiral Kunkka.

“Undying… hello…?” the Admiral’s voice echoed throughout the dark, damp cave. It was a tad peculiar that the Dirge was unresponsive; usually he would be eagerly emerging to greet Kunkka at this point. Either he'd lost his enthusiasm to see him entirely, or he was simply somewhere else -- and the Admiral had a sneaking suspicion he knew which was the case.

He turned around to exit the cavern, and approached the steep cliff to survey the bosky landscape below. Stroking his beard with one hand thoughtfully, the Admiral racked his brain trying to think of where the bugger had decided to run off to. 

“Well,” the Admiral said to himself, “if I were the servant of a terrible Dead God hell-bent on leaving nothing but destruction and despair in my wake, where would I head off to?”

The idea struck not a minute later, and Kunkka was already making his way back down the steep hill.

\--

In the shady forest below, a patient and unmoving Dirge watched from afar as Aiushtha the Enchantress pranced around, talking to her forest friends.

He had first caught a glimpse of her some time ago, while he was travelling through the underbrush on the way back from another gruesome and bloody battle. He remembers how he was instantly transfixed with her fair gaze, her sunshiny demeanor, and the spring in her step that never seemed to fade. He never had seen such a mortal being with such grace, such elegance… such beauty. 

And so for days, weeks, months after his first encounter with the Enchantress, the Undying constantly wondered why he was not capable of what she could do. In the past, he was totally unfamiliar with the concept of a friend until the Admiral arrived. He had gotten very close with him, and then understood the meaning behind a relationship with another. But still, the nagging and uncomfortable thought remained in his mind that he would never become close with as many creatures as Aiushtha.

It was unusual, really, for him to be so enamored with the living. After all, the Dead God's underlings were supposed to contaminate the land with the curse of death. Yet he could not help but wonder about his purpose compared to hers, or that of any other creature.

Today, he had finally decided to observe for himself and get a closer inspection of the Enchantress’ mystifying powers. Perhaps, he had reasoned, he could finally understand the secret behind developing friendships. 

So far, however, he had not learned anything. The Enchantress seemed to have a natural talent for, well, enchanting the woodland creatures and conversing with them as if they had known each other since the dawn of time. Whenever he tried the same methods Aiushtha had used, though, the critters ran away in fright -- just as they always did whenever he approached.

Dejected, the Undying pulled himself up from his observational spot and began to trudge back to the cavern where he could usually be found. Kunkka would undoubtedly be looking for him, and the two of them had probably missed out on a lot of action on the fields of war. The Dirge resigned himself to thinking that maybe he simply wasn't meant to have friends, and his brotherhood with the Admiral was a strange fluke.

“Well, hello!”

Surprised, the Undying yanked his head up to meet the smiling face of the Admiral himself. “I knew I would find you down here, Undying,” Kunkka said triumphantly.

“But… how?”

“Call it a navigator's instinct. What I want to know, though, is what you think you were doing down here.”

The Dirge hadn't thought of an excuse to give in this situation. He felt like admitting he was attempting to learn how to make friends would make the Admiral mad at him.

“I… the…”

At the sound of his voice, a flock of birds perched on a nearby branch flew away quickly. He turned to look at where they had just sat, and groaned disappointedly.

Kunkka nodded sagely. “You were trying to befriend that critter, weren't you?”

“...yes.”

The Admiral chuckled and shook his head. “Now why would you do that? You should know better than to buddy up with the living.”

Flustered, the Dirge couldn't think of a good response. “Kunkka… why are they scared of me?” he stammered.

“That's an easy one. You're a terrifying and disgusting servant of the Dead God who can kill entire legions just by overpowering them with the aura of doom that surrounds you.”

There was a pause. The Admiral cleared his throat.

“Chin up! That doesn't matter. That just means you can't expect to make friends with the cutesy, innocent creatures of the living like that... flighty deer broad.”

The Undying considered this for a moment. He had known that Kunkka had passed away a long time ago, but had never come to the conclusion that they were friends because of the common trait. It made sense, though, and already the Dirge’s mind was slowly piecing together a new idea. “I need more… dead friends.”

“Perceptive! I ought to give you a spyglass,” the Admiral laughed. He motioned for Undying to walk with him, and the two of them began to stroll through the forest, just like they would have this morning.

“Here's an old riddle. What kind of ship has two mates, but no captain?”

The Dirge did not know.

“A relationship!” the Admiral laughed.

There was nothing but silence from the Dirge.

“That was a joke, Undying.”

“Oh... That was funny.”

Kunkka sighed before continuing. “You see, Undying, the living only know love for those like them. People with hearts that still beat and lungs that still breathe.”

His voice was wistful and sad, as if it pained him to explain. “When you pass on, you have to leave that world behind. Maybe you never knew people like that… maybe you don't remember if you did… but I did.”

“Kunkka.”

“But now I've come to terms with it, and my best mate knows the language of the dead just as well as pirate speak.”

“Kunkka…”

“We don't need those living wenches. What do they have that we can't take? All of them, I'll drag them by th--”

“Kunkka!”

The Admiral, far ahead of the Undying by this point, whirled around in the middle of a dramatic gesture; fist clenched and sword drawn. “What?” he yelled indignantly, before realizing how caught up he had gotten in the moment. He dropped his arms to his sides and straightened his collar. “Ah, I… never mind.”

The Dirge had been listening to Kunkka's lecture intently, but wasn't quite following his meaning. Nonetheless, he trusted Kunkka's every word. With such passion in his speech, he surely knew what he was talking about… even if Undying didn't.

“The point is,” Kunkka said, turning around to poke the butt of his flintlock into the Dirge's patchy stomach, “it's what's on the inside that matters.” He paused for a moment, then continued. “Well, some of your insides are outsides, but you know what I mean.”

The Dirge nodded, only paying attention halfway. It was bothering him that the Admiral's advice seemed misguided, as if he hadn't understood the Dirge's intentions. Then it clicked.

“Kunkka… did you think I was trying to get close with the Enchantress earlier?”

Puzzled, the Admiral looked up at the Dirge's maw. “Well, of course. I thought it was in my best interest to stop you from… fraternizing.”

The Undying shook his head. “I just wanted to make friends with the pretty birds… and the butterflies… and the squirrels…”

The Admiral simply stayed silent for a moment before he simply said “Oh.” His voice was filled with a mixture of disappointment and relief at the same time. Blast him for calling that Enchantress a critter earlier. The naive Dirge thought he had meant a simple animal, not that enchanting witch.

“I suppose my advice was, ah, a bit unwarranted, then?”

The Dirge shook his head. “I listened. Even if I didn’t understand what you meant.”

Kunkka let out a deep, forlorn sigh. “I just didn’t want you making the same mistakes I did, getting your hopes up to be with a living creature.”

“You loved the Enchantress?”

The Admiral nodded gravely. “She tried to be nice about it, but I could tell from her tone… she didn’t want anything to do with an old vessel like me,” he said, staring vacantly into the distance.

The Dirge did not know this about Kunkka. The strong, independent sea captain had fallen for a living creature, and he had assumed the Dirge had done the same as well. Truly, her beguilement knew no bounds.

But he was his friend nonetheless. Even if he couldn't offer love or beauty the way she could, he would still be there for him, and he hoped -- no, he knew -- that was enough to make him a good friend.

The Undying placed a hand on the Admiral’s abdomen. “It’s what’s on the inside that counts, Kunkka.”

Kunkka looked down, then back up, and smiled. “You’re damn right, you dirty Dirge. You’re damn right.”


End file.
